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Use Home Technologies as an Effective Selling Tool
By Sean Weiner, Starr Systems Design
 Technology is not a commodity and it should not be sold like one.
The automakers have figured out the power and appeal of technology and how to sell it. Drivers can now control music, lighting and temperature with controls on their steering wheel or through voice activation. They can also receive real-time traffic and weather reports and talk hands-free with Bluetooth technology.
Car manufacturers have proven that technology is a salable option to those who are in the market today. Why aren’t many home builders doing the same thing?
The house and the neighborhood are what bring prospective home buyers to new homes and communities, but the options, features and amenities are often what make them buy.
Younger home buyers as well as active adult consumers are demanding more technology in their homes. When packaged and marketed effectively, technology will not only answer buyers' needs and wants, it can be a profit center. Builders need to keep this in mind when working with their technology partners.
Also, the technology upgrades don’t have to be priced inexpensively, they just have to be priced appropriately. Well-designed, properly priced systems can generate significantly more revenue than discounted cable and phone jacks.
In fact, taking the bargain-priced base options off of your selection sheet may actually help sales on upgraded wiring and system packages.
Here are a few ideas to help improve profitability on your technology options:
- Be different. Structured wiring is important, but it’s boring and your competitor offers it, too. Install systems in your model that will make an impression.
- Expand your product options. Customers may not talk about your granite countertops once they leave the house, but they will probably remember that cool TV behind the mirror in the master bath.
- Use technology as a selling tool. If finished basements, gourmet kitchens and granite countertops are good incentives, technology should be, too. Consider offering a lighting control system, an iPod-based music system, a computer network or even a “technology allowance” to attract buyers.
- One size does not fit all. Select the products and packages that fit your communities. Ask your electronic systems contractor (ESC) to design different systems for your different floor plans to ensure greater sales. For instance, condo buyers generally don’t want central vac systems, so make sure they’re not on the sheet.
- Price the packages correctly. No one will pay 40% more than the big box store price for a television, so set your pricing carefully and appropriately. It’s better to get 15% from the sale of 50 systems than 30% of none.
- Be selective and focus desired product offerings, not price. When it comes to technology, it’s more important to offer the right products than to offer the best prices. (Those customers that want deals will shop the Web.) Customers will buy technology from you because it was custom designed to fit their new home and lifestyle and professionally installed. They will pay more for the products they want, so don’t confuse your customers by offering unnecessary low cost options.
- Let your ESC sell the systems, not your salespeople. ESCs are experts on technologies and can demonstrate all the features of home technologies. It’s their job to keep up with the latest products and to know how they work. ESCs also can show and train your customers how to use the technologies. Your salespeople have enough on their plate. Not only will ESCs do a great job selling technologies, they’ll promote your company in the process.
- Set clear expectations regarding roll-ins and appraisals with your ESC. This is a difficult economy for appraisals, and no one wants the electronics to be a deal breaker.
- Wire your homes for today’s technologies, not yesterday’s. That cheap wiring package looks good on the selection sheet, but it will ultimately frustrate your customer. Chances are that the TV over the family room fireplace will be connected to a cable box and a DVD player. Since those accompanying devices will not be mounted behind the TV, your wiring just got more complicated and most likely will result in a warranty. Get ahead of that potential problem with structured wiring that can handle the job.
- Embrace technology. Find and work with a good ESC from the beginning of the design build process. Your partnership can develop ways that will help you sell your home and more products and increase your profitability.
- Partner with the right ESC for your business. Make sure the ESC’s business philosophy aligns with yours.
Sean Weiner is the president of Baltimore-based Starr Systems Design, which provides entertainment, security and electrical systems to custom and production home builders. For more information, e-mail Weiner, call him at 410-494-4310 or visit the Starr Systems Design Web site at www.starrsystems.net.
 Information About Home Technology Available From HTA
The Home Technology Alliance (HTA) is a partnership between NAHB and the Custom Electronic Design Installation Association (CEDIA) that was formed to position the housing industry to effectively meet the growing home buyer demand for home technology and provide maximum return on investment in the new home building and remodeling process.
For more information, visit www.nahb.org/HTA.
 CEDIA: A Source for Experienced ESCs
The Custom Electronic Design Installation Association (CEDIA) is a founding sponsor in the Home Technology Alliance and an international trade association of companies that specialize in designing and installing electronic systems for the home.
CEDIA members are established and insured businesses with bona fide qualifications and experience in this field. CEDIA serves as a source for Electronic Systems Contractors (ESCs).
For more information on CEDIA, visit the association’s Web site at www.cedia.org. To find an ESC, click here.
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